Michelle Obama stopped trying to smile during inauguration of Trump

Michelle Obama has admitted she “stopped even trying to smile” during the inauguration of President Trump.

In her new book, Becoming, the former US First Lady talks to the difficulty entangled with watching her husband Barack Obama step aside for the incoming president in early 2017.

“The vibrant diversity of the two previous inaugurations was gone,” Obama, 54, writes.

“Someone from Barack’s administration might have said that the optics were bad—that what the public saw didn’t reflect the president’s reality or ideals. But in this case, maybe it did.

“Realising it, I made my own optic adjustment. I stopped even trying to smile."

(AAP)

Obama also reflects on Hillary Clinton’s defeat, questioning why so many women rejected “an exceptionally qualified female candidate and instead chose a misogynist as their president.”

In an interview with America’s ABC News to promote the book, she was also asked to assess the performance of the current first lady, Melania Trump.

Obama showed trademark dignity, telling reporter Robin Roberts, "One of the things you learn as a former is you don't judge what a current is doing."

She then extended an olive branch to Melania, saying she was only a phone call away if she ever needed help. When asked if the new First Lady had ever reached out, Obama answered, “No, she hasn’t.”

(AAP)

During the interview, the mother of two also delved into deeply personal issues, including her past fertility and marital struggles, her profound anger towards Trump, and the bigotry and hate she encountered on the campaign trail.

She was more diplomatic on camera than she was with the pen, however. In Becoming, she claimed she'd never forgive Trump for putting her family's safety at risk by "stirring up the wingnuts and kooks" with conspiracies about his country of birth, which questioned Obama's American citizenship and in turn, his legitimacy as President.

Before he left for Paris on Friday, Trump chose not to respond to the former First Lady’s comments, telling reporters, “Oh, I guess she wrote a book. She got paid a lot of money to write a book and they always insisted you come up with controversial.”

Trump instead changed the subject to his predecessor, Barack Obama, saying, “I’ll never forgive him” for making the country “very unsafe.”